Author: Dawn Tripp
Publication Date: July 5, 2011
From Goodreads:
Jane Weld was eleven years old when her father, Luce, disappeared in 1957. His skiff was found drifting near a marsh, empty except for his hunting coat and a box of shotgun shells. No one in their small New England town knew for sure what happened until, three years later, Luce’s skull rolled out of a gravel pit, a bullet hole in the temple. Rumors sprang up that he had been murdered by the jealous husband of his mistress, Ada Varick.
Now, half a century later, Jane is still searching for the truth of her father’s death, a mystery made more urgent by the unexpected romance that her willful daughter, Marne, has struck up with one of Ada’s sons. As the love affair intensifies, Jane and Ada meet for their weekly Friday game of Scrabble, a pastime that soon transforms into a cat-and-mouse game of words long left unspoken, and dark secrets best left untold.
My Thoughts:
Game of Secrets is the story of small town life and how one act can influence many generations. While the main story in the book is of Jane Weld, there are many other smaller stories happening at the same time that all come together. Jane was eleven years old when her father disappeared. Three years later, his skull was found with a bullet wound. While nobody knew for sure and nothing could ever be proven, it was believed that he was murdered by the angry husband of his mistress, Ada Varick.
Now many years later, Jane and Ada have formed a somewhat strange relationship. They meet every Friday for Scrabble and have bonded over their combined loss. At the same time, Jane's daughter, Marne, has started dating Ada's son, Ray. While Marne has loved Ray for years, things done in the past and family secrets are hard to forget and their relationship is strained and tested almost immediately. The story alternates between time and characters. We hear from Jane, past and present, as well as other members of her family and of Ada's. The story works back and forth to bring out the truth about Jane's father and the repercussions the two families have lived with since his death.
I'll be honest and tell you I had a hard time getting into this book. While it was somewhat short, less than 300 pages, it still took me a long time to get through it. I think this was due to the author's writing style. It was heavy, the words very deliberate and almost every sentence a clue with double meaning. Sometimes I had to go back and read them again to make sure I was getting every bit of information the author was trying to tell me. Because of this, the beginning seemed to really drag. It took me days to get through just seventy pages. I kept at it though, and things really started to take off in a much better direction. I got used to the style of writing and started picking up on the small clues hidden in those words that ultimately led up to a satisfying read.
Each character we hear from in this book had their own story to tell, each struggling with something they so desperately want to change or forget. Jane wants to know what really happened to her father all those years ago and she wants to know what Ada knows. Marne, Jane's daughter, is struggling with her feelings for Ray and the way she distances herself from her family. Her relationship with her mother is strained and she is unable to move past it.
Of all the characters, the one I found myself most intrigued by was Huck, Ray's brother and another of Ada's sons. He was just a young boy when Jane's father went missing, but he remembers the fighting between his parents and even his secret love for Jane, someone who doesn't even notice him. Marne seems to hold a deep hatred for Huck, although it isn't immediately clear why. As the story progresses, we hear more from Huck as a teenager and learn more about his life growing up in a difficult household. I felt sorry for him and wanted better for him even though I knew where his life was going.
Game of Secrets is not a book to breeze through. It is one that needs to be digested slowly, giving you time to connect those clues and really take in all those things left unsaid but somehow still known. There are many secrets hidden in these pages, secrets that have been buried deep for years and just may shock you once they come to light.
I recommend Game of Secrets to anyone who is in the mood for a good mystery, putting the puzzle together piece by piece until all is revealed.
To learn more about Game of Secrets or Dawn Tripp, check out her website here.
Purchase:
No comments:
Post a Comment